Price Breadth - Advance Decline Net% FAQ

AD Net% equals advancing stocks less declining stocks divided by advancing stocks plus declining stocks. It expresses Net Advances as a percentage of the total. AD Net% is calculated every trading day and this statistic forms the base for the Price Breadth Rankings and indicators in the Price Breadth Charts.

AD Net% fluctuates between +100% and -100%. As the chart above illustrates, the data series moves from positive to negative quite often and needs to be smoothed for visual analysis.

By expressing AD Net as a percentage, we can compare the results across a wide array of ETFs. This is especially helpful when comparing breadth among broad market ETFs (QQQQ, DIA, IWM and SPY), sector ETFs (XLB, XLI, XLK, XLE) and industry group ETFs (SMH, SWH, OIH, RTH and XBI).
Back to Top

Price Breadth Charts

The price breadth charts show three indicators that are based on AD Net%. Moving averages were used for the first two indicators to make visual analysis easier. These moving averages smooth the raw AD Net% data and form natural momentum oscillators that fluctuate above and below zero. Signal lines were applied to make it easier to spot upturns and downturns in these indicators. This is similar to the MACD indicator, which uses a 9-day exponential moving average as a signal line to identify upturns and downturns. Like MACD and other momentum oscillators, buy/sell signals can be based on overbought/oversold readings, positive/negative divergences or crosses above/below the zero line.

The first indicator is a 20-day moving average of AD Net% and this represents four weeks or one month. As such, it is a short-term indicator that can be used to swing trade. A 20-day moving average was applied to the indicator to help identify upturns and downturns (magenta line).

The second indicator is a 60-day moving average of AD Net% and this represents 12 weeks or about three months. As such, it is a medium-term indicator that can be used to position trade. A 20-day moving average was applied to the indicator to help identify upturns and downturns (magenta line).

The third indicator is the AD Line and this is a cumulative measure of AD Net%. It does not act as an oscillator and is more inclined to trend. As such, it is better suited for long-term analysis. 50-day and 200-day moving averages have been applied and these can be used just like they would on a normal stock chart.

The Price Breadth Charts combine all three indicators with the ETF chart for visual analysis. The 20-day SMA of AD Net% (first indicator) is the fastest of the three indicators. It will peak or trough first and fluctuate more. The 60-day moving average of AD Net% (second indicator) lags the 20-day moving average of AD Net%. It will peak or trough afterwards and fluctuate less. The AD Line is the slowest and turns after the 20-day SMA and 60-day SMA have turned. Back to Top

Price Breadth Rankings

The data tables start with Advance% and Decline%. AD Net% equals Advance% less Decline%. The next columns show the Average of AD Net% over a various timeframes.

The 1-day, 5-day, 10-day and 20-day SMAs cover the short-term. The 60-day SMA covers the medium-term. The 120-day and 250-day SMAs cover the long-term.

The columns can be sorted by clicking the column heading (1-day, 5-day SMA, 10-day SMA etc…). Sort by the 20-day SMA to find ETFs with the strongest or weakest breadth over the past month (20-days). Sort by the 5-day SMA to find ETFs with the strongest or weakest breadth over the past week (5-days).

Each symbol is linked to an ETF chart with the 20-day moving SMA for AD Net%, the 50-day moving SMA for AD Net% and the AD Line. Users can hover over the symbol and the price breadth chart will appear.